Innovative solutions to support the digital culture dissemination
Cairo, December 11, 2019 – In light of Credit Agricole’s raison d’etre to achieve customer satisfaction and offer best customer service, Crédit Agricole Egypt has unveiled an innovative service, the first of its kind in Egypt, aiming to support the concept of “cashless” transactions and financial inclusion by reaching out to the various segments of the society, in alignment with the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) directions. This new service came in collaboration with Alexandria Sporting Club, to transform its club membership cards into prepaid Visa Cards. Such an innovative service allows club members to use their membership cards in making various purchases or in making payments. In continuation of this unique initiative, the Bank has unveiled cooperation with the Egyptian Shooting Club in the issuance of the coming membership cards that can also be used as prepaid cards.
The announcement came during a media gathering held by the Bank in the presence of Mr. Pierre Finas, Managing Director, and Mr. Walie Lotfy, Deputy Managing Director, with a number of media representatives, to review some of the bank’s main achievements during 2019. Such services are aimed to support its ambition to become a leading innovation driven sustainable bank, achieving customer satisfaction and serving the community, while preserving the environment. The top officials stressed that Crédit Agricole Egypt is going through the implementation of its expansion and development plans, including digital transformation to provide value-added services to its customers, as well as support to support the economy.
With regard to the Bank’s digital transformation journey, which resulted in the launch of an integrated platform of digital services, ‘banki by Crédit Agricole’, the senior managers have highlighted the success of this development drive that took place over the past two years, since now one-third of the Bank’s customers are currently registered in the digital services. Furthermore, nearly 1 million transactions have been carried out during 2019 using the Bank’s digital services. This comes in line with the Egyptian government’s move towards digital transformation of financial transactions and financial inclusion.
The Bank representatives also reviewed Crédit Agricole’s plan for geographical expansion, through increasing the number of branches to become always closer to its customers. Crédit Agricole Egypt opened in early 2019 its first cashless branch, in the framework of applying its innovative branches model ‘banki Store’. This new model is based on the balance between digital services and banking advice. The Bank has also opened and upgraded a number of innovative branches throughout the year, including the branches in Messaha Square in Dokki, Tanta, Shebine El-Koum, Banha, and lately Sheikh Zayed City. More branches are scheduled to be opened in early 2020 in Gleem, Alexandria, as well as in City Stars shopping mall, Hassan El-Maamoun St. and El-Rehab City.
In the context of the Bank’s effort to offer value-added services based on customers’ needs, the Bank celebrated the launch of its cutting-edge system of customer relationship management (CRM), using the latest worldwide technology systems. This new tool provides an effective and integrated tool to manage customer relationships through a 360 view that enables the fulfillment of the requirements of the customers. The launch of this system came as part of projects that are being implemented by the Bank in collaboration with the Group to increase customer satisfaction. This program is expected to be completed in 2020, by adopting the AI-enabled system and mechanisms.
During the media gathering, Crédit Agricole Egypt shared the results of its good performance, as demonstrated by the recent reaffirmation during November 2019 by Fitch Ratings for Crédit Agricole Egypt’s long-term issuer default rating at ‘AA+’ and short-term rating at ‘F1+’, with a stable outlook. This rating is underpinned by the Bank’s strong capital structure and liquidity, coupled with asset quality metrics supported by adequate risk management systems and policies, in addition to the support from the group, if required. Fitch Ratings also stated that Crédit Agricole Egypt’s profitability is among the best in the private-sector banks in Egypt. The Bank’s financial results showed a net profit of EGP 1.868 billion during the first nine months of 2019, an increase of 11.5% compared to the same period last year.
Committed to follow the best international standards in banking to ensure the best interest of its customers, Crédit Agricole Egypt has received the ISO certification 37001 in the field of implementing anti-corruption systems related to banking and financial services and insurance services. This certification confirms the bank’s conformity to the rules set by ISO for combating bribery and corruption.
In order to achieve its strategy through innovation, Crédit Agricole Egypt has moved to finding new digital solutions provided by startups, out of belief in their importance and the key role they can play in the financial ecosystem, in alignment with the Central Bank of Egypt’s direction, in order to fulfill customer needs and support national drives such as financial inclusion and SMEs. In this context, the Bank has taken part in the launch of the first French-Egyptian competition for startups in Egypt, in partnership with 15 French companies operating in Egypt, in light of the Declaration of Intent that was signed during the latest visit of the French President Emanuel Macron to Egypt in January, 2019. Furthermore, Crédit Agricole Egypt has organized, as part of the recently held startup competition “RiseUp Summit”, a hackathon for startups operating in digital financial technology to provide innovative solutions to digitize SMEs supply chain finance.
As for its plans for year 2020, and in pursuit of the implementation of its strategy, Crédit Agricole Egypt announced the launch of a number of new banking services, including a new service for companies, namely ‘Digital Trade Finance’, which facilitates obtaining letters of credit and guarantee for commercial activities. The Bank also plans to launch a new scheme, ‘Loyalty’, to reward its customers, in a unique experience that relies on fulfilling their lifestyle and interests. Customers will be able to follow up with this program digitally and choose their rewards easily.
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About Crédit Agricole Egypt:
Crédit Agricole Egypt is a subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole Group, a market leader in Universal Customer-Focused Banking in France and one of the largest banks worldwide. With operations in 50 countries, Crédit Agricole Group seeks to serve the real economy by supporting its clients’ projects in all areas of retail banking and associated specialized business lines. Emphasizing its values and commitment, Crédit Agricole Group is the bank of common sense. It puts the satisfaction and the interests of all its customers, employees and shareholders at the heart of its activities.
Established in 2006, Crédit Agricole Egypt has become an active player in Egypt’s financial industry offering a wide range of innovative and convenient products to its clients across the entire spectrum: Corporate, SMEs and individuals. Crédit Agricole Egypt’s key goal is customers’ satisfaction by valuing and prioritizing their best interests. Thus, Crédit Agricole Egypt has created specialized segments to cater its customers’ needs by offering the sound advice and tailored financial solutions. Accessibility and customers’ convenience are a priority for Crédit Agricole Egypt that offers a nationwide network of branches and ATMs. Also, the bank is considered as a market leader in terms of electronic services by offering state-of-the-art electronic banking solutions.
